New owner for Stonewall Jackson House

The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and the
Stonewall Jackson House Foundation are close to finalizing an agreement that would transfer the Lexington, Va., house museum where VMI professor Thomas Jackson lived for two years to the institute, according to officials involved in the transaction.

In May, the foundation approached VMI about acquiring the historic house as a way to protect the building and its collections, which the foundation purchased in 1994. Foundation executive director Michael Lynn said the Jackson House, as well as other small museums, are facing difficult times with the downturn in the economy and fewer visitors....